Observed and modeled larval settlement of a reef fish to the Florida Keys

Sponaugle, Su; Paris, Claire B.; Walter, Kristen; Kourafalou, Vassiliki H.; D’Alessandro, Evan K.

doi:10.3354/meps09641

Cited by 65 publications

(75 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…Although biophysical models show that some larvae may arrive to Florida reefs from distant upstream sources via the Florida Current (e.g., ref. 22), our results suggest that those exhibiting slow growth do not survive the journey. Although some NE fish may have contributed to the SUR population, based on trait distributions, it is likely that ED fish make up a significantly larger proportion of the fast-growing survivors.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 68%

Encounter with mesoscale eddies enhances survival to settlement in larval coral reef fishes

Shulzitski

Sponaugle

Hauff

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Oceanographic features, such as eddies and fronts, enhance and concentrate productivity, generating high-quality patches that dispersive marine larvae may encounter in the plankton. Although broad-scale movement of larvae associated with these features can be captured in biophysical models, direct evidence of processes influencing survival within them, and subsequent effects on population replenishment, are unknown. We sequentially sampled cohorts of coral reef fishes in the plankton and nearshore juvenile habitats in the Straits of Florida and used otolith microstructure analysis to compare growth and size-at-age of larvae collected inside and outside of mesoscale eddies to those that survived to settlement. Larval habitat altered patterns of growth and selective mortality: Thalassoma bifasciatum and Cryptotomus roseus that encountered eddies in the plankton grew faster than larvae outside of eddies and likely experienced higher survival to settlement. During warm periods, T. bifasciatum residing outside of eddies in the oligotrophic Florida Current experienced high mortality and only the slowest growers survived early larval life. Such slow growth is advantageous in nutrient poor habitats when warm temperatures increase metabolic demands but is insufficient for survival beyond the larval stage because only fast-growing larvae successfully settled to reefs. Because larvae arriving to the Straits of Florida from distant sources must spend long periods of time outside of eddies, our results indicate that they have a survival disadvantage. High productivity features such as eddies not only enhance the survival of pelagic larvae, but also potentially increase the contribution of locally spawned larvae to reef populations. population connectivity | selective mortality | otolith microstructure | mesoscale eddies | reef fish settlement

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 68%

Encounter with mesoscale eddies enhances survival to settlement in larval coral reef fishes

Shulzitski

Sponaugle

Hauff

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…The CMS allows us to track the source and destination of each larva. The CMS previously was used to investigate the interaction between the life history characteristics and oceanography of coral reef fishes and the spiny lobster in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea (Paris et al 2005(Paris et al , 2007Cowen et al 2006;Butler et al 2011;Sponaugle et al 2012;Kough et al 2013;Holstein et al 2014). More details on the coupled biophysical algorithms and modeling approach can be found in Paris et al (2013) (http://code.google.com/p/connectivity-modeling-system/).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling Larval Transport and Settlement of Pink Shrimp in South Florida: Dynamics of Behavior and Tides

2015

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The pink shrimp Farfantepenaeus duorarum, one of the commercially important Penaeidae, reproduces offshore of the southwest Florida (SWF) shelf. Larvae migrate to nursery grounds in estuarine Florida Bay. Using a numerical approach, we investigated the role of spawning location, larval traits, and physical forces on the transport of pink shrimp larvae. First, the Regional Oceanic Modeling System that is based on tides, air–ocean fluxes, and freshwater flows was used to simulate the SWF shelf oceanography. The model replicates the tides, winds, salinity, currents, and seasonality of the shelf. Secondly, the Regional Oceanic Modeling System was coupled offline with the Connectivity Modeling System, in which virtual larvae were released near the surface from two spawning sites, Dry Tortugas and Marquesas, and tracked until the time for settlement (about 28–30 d). Virtual larvae moved vertically in the water column following ontogenetic behaviors previously observed in the field: diel vertical migration (DVM) and selective tidal stream transport (STST). Lagrangian trajectories indicated that migration paths changed radically between summer and winter during model years (1995–1997). Maximum settlements occurred in summer by larvae crossing the SWF shelf, while the lowest settlement occurred in winter by larvae moving through passes in the Florida Keys. Modeling results demonstrated an effective east‐northeast transport across the SWF shelf during summer as a result of the tidal currents, the subtidal currents, and the combined DVM and STST behaviors. The current phase captured during the initial DVM period was critical to determine the direction in which larvae move, favorable (east and northward) or unfavorable (south and westward), before the STST behavior captures the eastward tidal current that brings larvae to the nursery grounds. Unfavorable currents were driven by the summer easterlies and low salinities at the coast. Results indicated that Marquesas is the more effective spawning ground, with 4.5 times more likely settlement of originating larvae compared with Dry Tortugas. Model‐estimated seasonal settlement patterns concurred with postlarval influxes previously observed at Florida Bay boundaries. Received June 26, 2014; accepted December 7, 2014

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“…Biophysical models are used to estimate connectivity over larger and longer scales than currently feasible in empirical studies (e.g., James et al 2002, Cowen et al 2006, Treml et al 2007). We deliberately did not include studies using biophysical models in our review, because such models are rarely validated with field data (except see Sponaugle et al 2012). A promising approach would be to combine empirical estimates of larval dispersal with biophysical models to validate, or ground-truth, the results from biophysical models, and then to estimate connectivity at sites and years where field sampling of recruit origins was not undertaken.…”

Section: A Way Forwardmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond connectivity: how empirical methods can quantify population persistence to improve marine protected‐area design

Burgess

Nickols

Griesemer

et al. 2014

Ecological Applications

205

297

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Abstract. Demographic connectivity is a fundamental process influencing the dynamics and persistence of spatially structured populations. Consequently, quantifying connectivity is essential for properly designing networks of protected areas so that they achieve their core ecological objective of maintaining population persistence. Recently, many empirical studies in marine systems have provided essential, and historically challenging to obtain, data on patterns of larval dispersal and export from marine protected areas (MPAs). Here, we review the empirical studies that have directly quantified the origins and destinations of individual larvae and assess those studies' relevance to the theory of population persistence and MPA design objectives. We found that empirical studies often do not measure or present quantities that are relevant to assessing population persistence, even though most studies were motivated or contextualized by MPA applications. Persistence of spatial populations, like nonspatial populations, depends on replacement, whether individuals reproduce enough in their lifetime to replace themselves. In spatial populations, one needs to account for the effect of larval dispersal on future recruitment back to the local population through local retention and other connectivity pathways. The most commonly reported descriptor of larval dispersal was the fraction of recruitment from local origin (self-recruitment). Self-recruitment does not inform persistence-based MPA design because it is a fraction of those arriving, not a fraction of those leaving (local retention), so contains no information on replacement. Some studies presented connectivity matrices, which can inform assessments of persistence with additional knowledge of survival and fecundity after recruitment. Some studies collected data in addition to larval dispersal that could inform assessments of population persistence but which were not presented in that way. We describe how three pieces of empirical information are needed to fully describe population persistence in a network of MPAs: (1) lifetime fecundity, (2) the proportion of larvae that are locally retained (or the full connectivity matrix), and (3) survival rate after recruitment. We conclude by linking theory and data to provide detailed guidance to empiricists and practitioners on field sampling design and data presentation that better informs the MPA objective of population persistence.

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Observed and modeled larval settlement of a reef fish to the Florida Keys

Cited by 65 publications

References 56 publications

Encounter with mesoscale eddies enhances survival to settlement in larval coral reef fishes

Encounter with mesoscale eddies enhances survival to settlement in larval coral reef fishes

Modeling Larval Transport and Settlement of Pink Shrimp in South Florida: Dynamics of Behavior and Tides

Beyond connectivity: how empirical methods can quantify population persistence to improve marine protected‐area design

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